The rishis of Dandak Aranya
In time out of mind, 16,000 rishis perform a tapasya in the Dandak Aranya. They know lord Vishnu has incarnated as Rama. And all they want is to get a glimpse of Rama. When Rama enters the Dandak Aranya, their joy knows no bounds. They beg Rama to engage in some Leela with all of them.
Rama says, “I cannot fulfil your wishes in this incarnation because I have taken the Eka Patni Vrat. I will shower my love on Sita alone in this incarnation. But I will give you the Daan of my Leela when I incarnate as Krishna. I will engage in a mystic leela with each one of you. And all of you will experience such Ananda that you will find it difficult to describe your emotions in words.”
The rishis nod in assent and agree to let Rama, Sita and Lakshman go their way. They then perform an intense tapasya for several years.
The Kumarikas of Vraj
With the power of their intense tapasya, these 16,000 rishis are reborn as Kumarikas in Vraj during the Dwapar Yug. The Kumarikas have forgotten everything about their previous lives. All they know is that they have an intense desire to marry Krishna in this life. The Kumarikas discuss their innermost feelings with one another. And they are surprised when they realize that each one of them wants Krishna alone as their husband.
The Katyayani Vrat
So, the Kumarikas decide to fast and follow all the rituals prescribed for the worship of Katyayani Devi during the auspicious month of Margashira. They know that Katyayani Devi will surely fulfil their desire if they observe all the norms of the Vrat for one whole month.
The Kumarikas wake up early every morning, bathe in the waters of Yamunaji, chant mantras in her glory and sing Krishna’s praises in loud voices. They then worship Katyayani Devi with reverence.
Maan Leela and Yamunaji
Every day they try to recreate the bhaav of Krishna’s Maan leela while bathing in the waters of Yamunaji. One of them plays the role of Krishna. And each Kumarika seeks Krishna’s blessings, does her very best to please Him, holds Him in her arms and begs Him to become her husband.
Yamunaji, Krishna’s Bhakti Swaroop, removes the mutual differences that they had harboured amongst themselves in their earthly lives, rids them of the sins of Kali Yuga and cleanses the doshas that they had unknowingly created while engaging in the Maan Leela when they bathe in her waters every day.
After Yamuna snaan, they realize that only if they shed all the cultural barriers and break free of the societal conditioning of their earthly lives, they can merge with the divinity of Krishna forever.
Yes, Yamunaji does help the Kumarikas forge a deep bond with Krishna. As usual. But Krishna fulfils His promise in His own unique manner. As usual.
Cheer Haran Leela
Krishna engages in the Cheer Haran Leela with the Kumarikas. He sits atop a Kadamba tree and steals all their garments when they are bathing in Yamunaji.
The Kumarikas are overwhelmed with joy when they see Krishna before them. But when they recognize their garments hanging in the branches of the Kadamba tree and see Krishna smiling cheekily at them all, they realize what He is up to.
They had heard the gopis complaining about Krishna’s pranks often enough. So initially, they are influenced by all the stories, plead with Krishna and ask Him to return their garments to them.
But years of intense tapasya had purified their thoughts and emotions to a great extent. They soon realize that Krishna was giving them the Daan of His mystic leela, as He had promised them aeons ago.
They hear Yamunaji’s soft voice speaking through their souls, “Surrender to Krishna. Shed your cultural and societal barriers if you wish to experience Krishna’s divinity. What can we hide from Him anyway? For He, Krishna knows us all inside out. Break every barrier that you have created in your minds and hearts. Fear not. Seek refuge in Him. All we need to do is to surrender to His will. Absolutely. Remember. He never lets go of us.”
The Kumarikas realize the worth of Yamunaji’s words. And slowly, they emerge out of Yamunaji’s waters, wearing only the gentle cool breeze as their garments. They gaze devoutly at Krishna and see Him smile at them serenely. Krishna removes the last vestiges of their doshas and rewards them with the experience of His mystic Leela. And so, the Katyayani Vrat ends on a divine note. And since the Gop Kanyas observed the Katyayani Vrat for the entire month of Margashira, we call this month as Gopya/Gop Maas.
The Sakhis Bhaav for Krishna
In Pushti Marg, we dedicate three months for the seva of Krishna’s most beloved sakhis. We dedicate Kartik, Margashira and Pausha for Lalitha Sakhi’s seva, Magh, Phalgun and Chaitra for Chandravali’s seva, Vaishakh, Jyestha and Aashadh for Yamunaji’s seva and Shravan, Bhadrapad and Aso for Radhaji’s seva. We focus on nurturing the many qualities ( Bhaav) of one particular Sakhi during these three months.
We call the places where Krishna engages in His Leelas with His Sakhis as a Kunj. Krishna engages in His Leelas in 12 different places -Arun Kunj, Harit kunj, Hem kunj, Purnendu Kunj, Shyam Kunj, Kadamb Kunj, Sitambu Kunj, Vasant Kunj, Madhavi Kunj, Kamal Kunj, Champa Kunj and Neel Kamal Kunj.
The essence of Ghatas in Pushti Marg
In Pushti Marg, we recreate the Sakhis Bhaav during Krishna’s many Leelas using a concept called Ghata. We have dedicated 12 Dwadashis for Krishna’s 12 Leelas.
We ensure that the Pichwai, Saaj, bedspread and our Nidhi Swaroop’s Shringar are all of the same colours, and create the ambience of one particular Kunj and Leela on a specific Dwadashi to nurture a corresponding Sakhi’s Bhaav within us.
Since we associate Krishna with the colour of Shyam and Radha with yellow, we depict the union of Radha and Krishna by blending blue and yellow to get the colour green. So, on one Dwadashi during the months of Shravan, Bhadrapad and Aso we create a green Ghata.
We celebrate Gop Maas in Margashira, one of the months dedicated for Lalitha Sakhi’s Seva. And Lalitha sakhi symbolizes affection for Krishna. The Gop Kanyas too had a lot of affection and Bhakti for Krishna. Since the colour red symbolizes affection, we create a red Ghata on one of the Dwadashis of Gop Maas. We adorn our Nidhi swaroops in red clothes with tiny golden flowers on them to depict the many Gop Kanyas. On this day, we recreate the Bhaav of the Cheer Haran Leela and reaffirm to ourselves that like the Kumarikas, we all too can experience Krishna’s divinity if we surrender to His will unconditionally.
The essence of Gop Maas
Krishna’s Cheer Haran Leela usually delights us. But let’s not lose out on the essence of this beautiful Leela. Our egos are extremely fragile. And breaking free from our materialistic tendencies and social conditioning fills us with fear. We intuitively cling to what we have and know because it comforts us. A lot. Yes, uncertainty does unnerve us. But like the Gop Kanyas, only when we muster the courage to overcome these physical, cultural, mental and emotional barriers – can we experience Krishna’s mystic Leelas and Ananda.